Buz Craft fishes his grass-ripping technique with a stout, 7-foot rod and a 7:1 reel. Most scenarios find 15-pound fluorocarbon sufficient, but in heavier vegetation he’ll go with 65-pound PowerPro braid.
“I like a rod with a lot of backbone, because if you use one that’s too soft, all you’ll do is ball the bait up in that grass and you really can’t jerk it out,” Craft said. “Braided line cuts through that grass a lot better than fluorocarbon.”
Craft also offers this tip: High-visibility yellow braid helps him monitor his line for the slightest of movement — a helpful advantage that facilitates the quick response needed to prevent hooked bass from burying deep in the cover.
To keep from alerting the fish, Craft uses a black Magic Marker to darken the last 3 feet of that yellow line.
As for positioning, Jeremy Guidry said anglers should let the scenario dictate their setup. In broad, shallow flats with scattered weeds, fan casting and looking for prominent clumps is best. In deeper spots, where narrow bands of grass may sit 4 to 8 feet deep, he positions his boat right along the outside edge and uses his trolling motor to run this line and keep his baits in the strike zone.
Craft said there’s another key.
“Anytime you have grass with a ditch close by or any kind of point, that’s what you should focus on,” he explained. “The fish are going to congregate around points and ditches or wood.
“Anytime you have wood emerging through your grass, that’s a good area to try, too.”
